Broken aquarium filter?

Yesterday we discovered that the aquarium filter is not filtering very much water. The water should cascade out of the spout, but only a low dribble is coming out now. It may be broken, or it may need cleaning.

The goldfish themselves are seeming pretty lethargic. I changed a quarter of the water this morning, so I hope that helps.

I'm also wondering if the lack of light is affecting them adversely. They are in a pretty dark area which only gets real light for minutes at a time throughout the day. Their lethargy may be them sleeping, now that I think about it.

Triceratops burgers

If the dinos never died out, would I complain that the triceroburger tasted like chicken?

Mandela guard snuffs a life

Albeit his own...

Did you know Mandela's grandson's name was Mandla? I'm going to have to impress upon Julian that his son's name should be Laurn. Or Laren. Hmm.. The possibilities are endless... (or within 6/1 :-)

Americans on the move

I don't have any real data to back this up, but my gut feeling is that there is a lot of moving going on back in the U.S.

With the current economic downturn, people are starting to look outside of their current locations for work. That means moving to different cities, sometimes across the country. There was a recent article that claimed DC and Baltimore have a growing job market. San Jose too. As people get more desperate, they are likely to get over their moving anxiety, pull up their roots, and just move to where the jobs are.

If so, we may be seeing a new relocation of the workforce, especially in the tech sector. The tech heavy Northwest and Bay Area may see a small reduction in workers with the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic areas seeing a huge influx.

As these people start moving, it is going to affect housing prices, salary levels, tax income, and other things for the areas affected. It will also bring different cultures directly in contact with each other, which ought to be a good thing overall.

Who knows, maybe my next home in the U.S. will be back in DC.

Oh sure, kick *me* out

I was just kicked out of the Nishi-Kasai public library. It is against the rules to use a PC because it may disturb other patrons.

Nevermind the guy over by the electronic catalog with the 3 bags of garbage and his pants falling off. No, Mr. Library Manager, I'm the one causing a disturbance.

Now I'm at Doutor Coffee getting lung cancer from all the second-hand smoke. At least I now have some air conditioning.

Burger King

I had heard that there was a Burger King in Shinjuku, but I didn't realize until a couple weeks ago that my office is just across the street from it.

So I had, for the first time in years, a double Whopper with cheese and BK onion rings.

Now I am feeling very greasy and will probably abstain from it for another 7 years.

Here's the location for anyone interested. It's close to the Marunouchi Nishi-Shinjuku station, but also within walking distance from the Oedo Tochomae station.

Spitting in the airport

I just got back from a 3 week trip to Taiwan. I really enjoy my time over there. The people are great to work with, and the food is always delicious. I'm looking forward to going back again soon.

But sometimes I am taken a little aback at little things. Today after passing through immigration and into the boarding terminal, I heard an old guy hock a loogie. Not out a window or into a plant or in the bathroom. Rather, he spat out a lungful of phlegm right in front of the Mont Blanc store.

7 years ago when I first got to Japan, this kind of thing really annoyed me. Everywhere I went, people were spitting on the sidewalks. It was a veritable wading pool of tobacco tar, saliva, and snot everywhere you went. But this type of behavior, while still occasionally popping up, has been pretty much eradicated from Tokyo.

But as bad as it ever was in Japan, I don't think I ever saw someone spit inside a building onto the floor.

Yuck.